Enslaved Love 2: A Continental Journey
by Kitsaku
Summary: Sequal to Enslaved Love! After the incedences at the Ishtar Temple, Malik and the crew head out in search of Yugi's Body. Across the continent, they meet new people, fight new challenges, see new countries, and are haunted by an old friend. Read and Revie
1. Escape

HAI! (waves arms all around) It's meeeee! Tag! And I got all my beloved readers a new story.. A fresh story! One where our hero's from the original fic, Enslaved Love, will try to start off fresh, and journey across the land in search of Yugi's body. They also hope to get away from the raging slaves which are infuriated by Malik's rein, and only wishes for his death.

I suggest, if you have not read Enslaved Love, that you do, since this story will make no sense if you don't. This IS, after all, the sequel.

This sequel _Enslaved Love 2: A Continental Journey_ will be longer, filled with more thrill, danger, adventure, romance, unexpected twists and turns, and more detail! Read on, my loyal Enslaved Love reviewers, and this story shall continue! With your help, the torch for this story shall burn bright, and live on!

Before I start with my new Sequel, I want to give a huge shout out to Kohaku-sama (Kohaku Ishtar). I am actually shocked to get that review from you... shocked to get ANY review actually! I was really, REALLY down when I received the review, and boy... did it EVER turn my day around. I felt so... proud. It made me all flattered... and hyper. Getting a review from my favourite FF author, not to mention really my writing idol, especially that lengthy one with so much praise, made me very happy! I felt all privileged and special! I wanna thank you bunches! _Big hugs_

Anyways, I think I'm done now...

ENJOY:D

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**Enslaved Love 2: A Continental Journey**

_Chapter 1: Escape_

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The dull sound of footsteps echoing through the empty halls was all that showed of any life in the temple that was Malik Ishtar's... Pharaoh Malik Ishtar. The footsteps continued to echo, all in an uneven beat, growing voluminously as the source of them drew nearer. Along with the repeating footsteps, came heavy, tired breathing, and soon a crew rounded the corner of the stone hall, running as hard as they could.

Leading the pack was the dusty blonde pharaoh himself, Malik Ishtar. His lavender eyes as fierce and determined as ever, purple cape flowing ever so perfectly behind him. The golden, Millennium Rod hung by his waist, unsheathed, and blade shining in the dim light that was provided by torches and candles along the wall. The black shirt he wore moved slightly as his tight chest shifted with each long, quick step he took. This Pharaoh however, was not panting like the rest of them, he was determined to get to the chamber as much as the rest of them... perhaps even more.

Beside him was his enslaved lover, pink hair now out of her orderly fashion from the previous sprawl, bleeding softly from the stomach and arm; nothing serious, but wasn't something to be ignored. Her hair blew back as she ran barefooted down the hall, slightly behind Malik, and her blood red fabric of her skirt also blew. Her blue eyes excited and fearful, yet thankful at the same time.

Next came to forgotten Pharaoh and his lighter, re-incarnated half, both transparent in looks and floating ever so softly down the hall. Both with their red/black hair with the bolts of yellow lightning to accent it. However, the two had their differences. The smaller of the two, had more child-like eyes, and wore his blue jacket over his black muscle shirt. His voice was also lighter and slightly higher pitched than that of his ancient half. The other was taller, and his eyes were fierce and steady. He also wore his jacket over the shoulders, and not over his arms. The younger one, Yugi, wore and expression of excitement. It was easy to tell he couldn't wait to start their journey. Yami, however, wore a serious look, which seemed determined, and cautious.

Odeon, with his tanned skin and marking beared across his face, showing loyalty to Malik hurried behind the spirits and pink haired girl. His clothes consisted of his baggy black pants, long sleeved black shirt, and purple cloak which matched Malik's well. Along with him was Serenity, a long brown haired girl with hazel eyes, which showed her shyness, and in-security. Her clothes were nothing to be proud of, however, for she wore the clothing of a slave... tattered and tied sheets that were one white, ripped and tied to make up a dress type of clothing.

A wave of purple hair followed hers as Odeon made a turn, away from the others and into the Shrine of Anubis, probably to gather missed items and to make sure that things were under control with the spell broken mind slaves. The source of the purple hair was Debbie, running to catch up with her friend. Her violet eyes focussed towards the shrine, and she held her bleeding hand, which had been cut by the blade of the Millennium Rod when she banished Mariku to the shadow realm. Her purple tie-up shirt and skirt now had blood spots on the from the dripping blood of her hand. She too, knew that she would have to wrap up her hand.

And finally, Joey, the older brother of Serenity. His blonde hair blew softly behind him as she chased his friend down the cobblestone hallways, panting slightly as she caught up and focussed his chocolate brown eyes on his sister, making sure that she was safe. His tattered white t-shirt was covered in dirt and slight amounts of blood. Also, a small trail of blood came from his lip, descending downwards from the squabble with the mind slaves. His tattered blue jeans also had small traces of blood, but it wasn't Joey's blood, however. The boy managed to make a few mouths bleed in the fight.

As the little group ran down the hallways, they heard Odeon coming back from the Shrine of Anubis, by the sound of the shrine doors slamming. Malik hoped to Ra that Odeon managed to grab the Millennium puzzle, and the sheathe for the Millennium Rod. It would leave a lot of marks in his palm if the rod wasn't sheathes again.

All were hoping to get to Malik's room, where the twins would be located. They would have to get there and get the twins before the slaves managed to break into the temple... they could all be killed for trying to protect Malik... it wouldn't take much, in fact, considering it was them against about another million slaves. No matter how much power they held, numbers did matter.

Finally, Malik widened his eyes as he reached his chamber, pushing the door open to hear both Amaya and Kichiro crying. They probably felt abandoned, and were afraid. Immediately, Jill moved swiftly passed him and bent down to pick up the girl, rocking her gently in her arms and saying soft comforting words to her. Malik stood in the doorway for a moment, staring at his lightly pink hair daughter, who hiccuped innocently. He swallowed, then heard Kichiro's cries ring in his ears. He snapped out of his daze, then ran over to the golden cradle where he carefully scooped up the boy, and did his best to mimic Jill's movements.

The mother's eyes looked at the current Pharaoh of Egypt, who seemed lost in what to do, yet wore an expression of being overwhelmed. After all, he had been absent for about a year. Even though Her watched, he never had the chance to know what fatherhood was like. Slowly, she smiled at him, finally hushing and calming the girl. "How does it feel?" she asked, smiling, content.

Malik's lavender eyes looked up from the hiccuping child, and to her. He blinked for a moment, then looked down at the boy again, a soft smile spreading on his face. He cradled to boy carefully, and sighed. "Different... definitely not something I'm used to... but... fulfilling, amazingly..."

The two gazed at each other, smiling. It was the first time they had experienced parenting... together that is... Both caught in a moment they would never feel again... a feeling of completeness, fulfilment, and safety, all in one split second, mixed together.

However, the couples moment was swept away from them faster than birchbark in a rapid running river, ending with a waterfall. The others had comes through the door, looking concerned. Both turned their attention immediately to the crew, blinking in confusion. Joey, the blonde, panted softly for a moment while the couple stood with blank, questioning expressions. "You guys gonna stand there all day? Those slaves are gonna get through the gate soon! If we plan ta escape dis place without gettin ripped apart!" he yelped, taking another breath after. Just as Joey finished, Odeon sighed, and tossed over the sheathe for the Millennium Rod to Malik, who caught it and sighed also.

Frowning, Malik gave a slow, simple nod. As much as he wanted to live in the moment, enjoy this new feeling he was beginning to feel, he knew that there was no other choice. The longer they stayed inside the temple. The greater the chance of the raging slaves breaking into it, and, like Joey had said, 'rip them apart'. The thought didn't exactly seem too appealing to Malik, so the pharaoh grunted, adjusting the boy in his arms, then turned to walk. "Right... don't exactly like the idea of being torn apart by people who are like savage beasts... so lets take a quicker route..." Just as the words escaped his lips, he turned to the far wall, pacing over quickly, and began to rummage through some scrolls on a shelf.

Yugi, the younger, shorter spirit tilted his head, then made his way over to Malik slowly. Before being able to see what he was doing, Malik landed a cold, hard, glare on him, warning him to back away. He jumped, then stepped back from the searching teen. It was obvious Malik didn't feel to kind towards him. Either that, or he was trying to focus, and didn't want Yugi interrupting him.

_He seems just like he used to be... cold... angry, and withdrawn..._ Jill thought to herself, narrowing her eyes slowly, and softly... not angry though, just sadly. Maybe it was because he was under pressure? Or maybe Mariku wasn't really gone after all.

Shaking her head, he eyes fell to the floor, grabbing some small blankets from the crib. _No... Mariku is gone... how could Mariku escape the Shadow Realm? Malik's just uptight right now... maybe this... Yugi... has had some past experience with Malik... maybe that's why the two seem... a little uptigh-_

"There!" came Malik's voice as he opened the back of the shelf to reveal a stone with indentations in it. Being as far back as she was, Debbie squinted her eyes, staring hard at the indents, trying to figure out what is was. It didn't take long for her to realise that the Millennium Rod fit into the grooves, and she put two and two together, realising that it was the key to opening the passage.

The Egyptian Pharaoh grunted, then pulled the Millennium Rod from his waist, and sheathed it again. Carefully, Malik chanted something unfamiliar to any one else, probably Egyptian, then pushed the Millennium Rod into the grooves, where a quick, flash shone, blinding everyone momentarily, then stopped. Once eyes were adjusted once again, everyone could see that the bookshelf has shifted to the right, and there was a dark passage downward.

"Oh my goodness!" yelped the surprised Serenity, placing a hand to her mouth in disbelief. She was still not used to this magic stuff. It had confused her, yet amazed her all the same. Either way, it was still magic, and in this case, it was a good thing. Carefully, she took a step forward and looked towards the dark stairs. A hollow echo moaned off of the stairway halls, sounding like a depressed howl of a sick wolf, waiting hungrily at the end. She backed away again, then clung to her brother, frightened. "Joey... I'm scared..." she whimpered.

The blonde boy smiled at his sister, placing a hand on her head and patting it gently. "Don't worry Serenity... Malik wouldn't sent his own heir into a descending doom, right?" he grinned, then looked at Malik. He had to admit, after everything that had happened, Malik wasn't really the most trustworthy guy. He had turned his back on everyone more than enough. Using people for his own evil desires... who was to say he hadn't changed? His smile turned to a frown, directed at the dusty blonde.

Lavender eyes landed a hard glare on Joey as the remark left his lips, curling up his nose threateningly. _Who does he think he is? No wonder I tend to give people the cold shoulder... THIS happens. It's all Mariku's fault... and fathers... if it weren't for them, none of this would have happened. Damn them to Anubis and Underworld..._ He finally turned his gaze away, stepping out of the way of the entrance, in front of his desk. He lowered his head, almost hearing the voice of Mariku taunting him again. 'Good luck getting your life back together, loser' He could hear the voice chiming in his ears, like thunder in a small child's ears.

Shaking his head, he then motioned for everyone to walk down, grabbing a torch from the wall. Not even thinking twice, Jill walked over and into the dark staircase, taking the torch as she passed him, walking down inside. She was followed closely by Odeon, who just stood aside from the entrance, waiting for his master. Debbie followed, with Joey and Serenity following reluctantly, and the two spirits right behind.

His lavender eyes watched as they entered the darkness, then sighed. He turned to the desk, opening a drawer, reaching in and pulled something out. He sighed and thrust the item in his pocket quickly, and with his only free hand, since Kichiro was still cradled in one arm, he un-attached his cape, and let it fall, floating to the ground. He knew it would only grab more attention, and he didn't want that... not like they needed it. Huffing, he adjusted Kichiro, grabbed the Millennium Rod from it's 'keyhole', and stepped inside, watching as the bookcase re-appeared in front of the passage.

His eyes met Odeon's, and the two stared at each other for a brief moment. The two nodded in synchronism, then made their way down after the others, in a hurried fashion. "We got to hurry, Odeon..." Malik said quietly, knowing that the slaves :must: have made it through the gate by now. His eyes gazed at him, worried. "I can't let anything happen to these people... if I do... they'll never believe that my evil has been banished..."

Odeon nodded, then made a gesture to Malik. The blonde nodded, slowing his quick pace and handed his 'older brother' Kichiro, and grabbed an un-lit torch, running faster down the stairs. Odeon cradled the boy, who seemed to be frightened slightly by the fast pace, and hung onto him carefully. He followed his master downwards, and nodded. "I understand, Master Malik... let us make haste... with little time left, we must escape this nightmare, and move onwards."

Malik glanced at Odeon for a moment, then cocked a playful grin at him, catching up to the others. "You and you classy talk..." he murmured, then passed everyone until he was beside Jill again, lighting his torch with the one she held. He was quick to move in front of her, gliding a gentle hand along the stone wall, as if lightly using it for support, or feeling the crevices between the stones.

Sighing, Debbie looked back at Odeon, who was still holding the young, struggling boy. She watched him carefully as he did his best to try and calm down Kichiro, then looked away. The reality that Ryou was gone dawned upon her again, making her feel as if she were falling into a dark void, lost and forever depressed.

_Ch-chin up, girl... Ryou wouldn't want this... he wants you to get away... survive. If only I had of been there..._

Her attention was caught when she noticed that the stairs had ended, and the others were hurrying ahead of her, down the dark tunnel. She shook her head quickly, then pushed her pace further, catching up with them. She did her best to push all of her thoughts of Ryou aside, and focus on the situation at hand... they could all be looking at their death.

Determined, Malik pushed himself further, then came to an abrupt stop, causing Joey, who was directly behind him to trip, fumble, then topple over. Malik's eyes looked down at the blonde with a rather sad, pathetic expression in them. As Joey rubbed his head, and looked up, Malik averted his eyes from him, then felt along the wall. He mumbled words beneath his breath, feeling along the smooth wall, then pushed on a stone, causing a rumble to echo.

The dusty blonde stepped back, as the blonde on the ground looked up. "Eh? GAH!" he yelped, jumping back, only to fall down on his buttocks again. With that, Malik dropped the torch he held to the floor, and watched as it burned out with a sudden wind, mysterious, and dark. Jill yelped and dropped hers as well, watching as it too burnt out.

Everyone watched, and braced themselves as the walls shook, and dust fell from the ceiling. Some of the ceiling crumbled, causing more dust, and panic to arise in the group. Serenity gasped, whining slightly as the fear rose up in her. Debbie stood near Jill, blinking in shock, and praying that the ceiling would not fall. Jill clung to Amaya, covering her head to protect her, and bit her lip.

However, Odeon and Malik remained calm. Both stood in their spot, watching as the wall slowly crumbled. Simultaneously, they closed their eyes, with Odeon shielded Kichiro's eyes, who was now crying, afraid of all the noise and shaking. The stone that had fallen crumbled into dust at their feet, causing a huge cloud of sandy dust to rise, blinding everyone. Without opening his eyes, Malik grabbed his beloved by the wrist, and Odeon grabbed Malik, pulling him along. Jill coughed. "Debbie, take my shoulder!" he called, and felt Debbie grab her shoulder, and soon a chain was started, with the two spirits walking on their own, watching the other intently and carefully.

Odeon led the rope of friends along the tunnel, then finally let go of Malik, running quickly over to the opening where light could be seen. The chain of people detached, and they all followed Odeon, realising that they were in some sort of stable. It seemed like the way they came in was the only way in, so Debbie assumed that it was a secret stable.

"This for emergencies, Malik? Or do you run your own personal horse grooming business?" Joey asked sarcastically as he ran over to the stable and looked at the well groomed, light brown horses, who merely snorted when the blonde looked at them. The force of the wind from the nostrils moved Joey's hair, and was hot on his face. He could also see that they were powerful. Strong legged and already harnessed.

Growling, the dusty blonde glared at Joey.He felt as if Malik's eyes could pierce his soul, and throw knives into him. Malik just glared hard, then hurried over to one of the stalls, opening it and un-tying the reigns. "I would shut my mouth if I were you, Wheeler. Now shut up and un-tie the horses... unless you want to be torn from limb to limb." he threatened.

Joey glared at Malik for a short moment, but knew that if he pushed him too far, the guy probably would leave him for dead. So he shut his mouth, opened the stall door, and helped un-tie the reigns. Odeon had joined in as well, handing Kichiro to Serenity.

All the time, Yugi stood beside the ancient Pharaoh, watching intently, then looked at him. "Yami... Malik seems to have gone cold again..." he mentioned, being careful to keep his voice low. The pharaoh moved his eyes to look at him, but remained still. Yugi focussed on Malik once more, serious expression painted across his face in a perfect fashion. "Before, he seemed to have changed... and now he's back to being cruel and dark-hearted... do you think Mariku has somehow 'rubbed off' on him?"

"No..." Yami voice said calmly, then lowered his gaze. The youth looked at him, confused, and eyes full of question. "Malik has been through more than we can ever imagine... and having his life just tossed to him like this once again must be stressful... People handle stress in different ways... besides..." he trailed off, watching as the others pulled the horses out, and the boys help the girls on top of them.

Yugi stared at him, tilting his head slightly and slowly. "Besides... what, Yami?"

The pharaoh looked down at Yugi with a half smile, then started to make his way over as well. "Rome wasn't built in a day, Yugi... people don't change in a day either... I'm sure he'll come around..." he said as his feet touched the ground beside the horses, who now had everyone on. Yugi sighed, and followed.

On one horse, Malik sat behind Jill, arms around her and holding the reigns as she held Amaya. Odeon was situated in the same way with Debbie who still held Kichiro, and Joey with Serenity behind him. The spirits wouldn't need a horse, because they could just float along. Malik looked back at everyone, then nodded, holding up the Millennium Rod.

Chanting un-known words, which they all presumed to be Egyptian, Malik held the Millennium Rod firmly in his hand, and it began to glow. He continued chanting repeatedly as the wall in front of them began to crumble outward, letting the dust fall in the opposite direction. And with that, Malik shoved the Millennium Rod back in it's little hold on his waist, then yanked the reigns harshly, causing the horse to rear, neigh, then take off. The other horses mimicked the leader, following him out into the sandy desert imitation.

Malik took a final look back as they reached the hill, and noticed that the slaves were no where in sight, which meant they were most likely inside, searching for them. He was leaving behind his past... the evil that it all held, and was going to start over... He sighed, then steered the horse towards the forest, with the others following behind...

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Although it seemed quiet, the torture chamber seemed restless. Yet the feeling of the chamber would make a ghouls skin crawl. Though they were no longer active, the foul stench was still lingering about, and bodies were piled up in a huge pile.

_Revenge..._

A soft echoing whisper rasped throughout the chamber as a chilling air current swept through and blew the torch fire gently.

_Death..._

The whisper continued, and a mist spewed out from under the doorway, dark and heavy.

_Kill..._

The mist crawled across the floor, rolling softly and began to crawl up over the bodies.

_Sacrifice..._

As the mist touched the fresh bodies, the because to decompose, slowly, and greying the skin of them until it was brown in color, rotten blood spewing from a few of them.

_Awaken_

As the mist seemed to hiss it's whisper in a raspy tone, there was a sudden jolt, and a tense hand exploded through the back of a decomposing corpse. The hand, pale, covered in veins and dead blood. The hand twitched, fingers slowly closing into a fist, then reaching out again, shaking with the intensity, then slammed down onto a rotten body, grabbing it tightly, and not letting go.

_Revenge..._

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End chapter 1! WOW! This took me a while, but once I got down to it, I managed to get my act together and write out a plot! Now you guys have a fresh new Enslaved Love story to look forward to! Tell me what you think so far, and review! Who do you think it is? You'll find out in the next chapter!

Tag


	2. Revival and Arrival

Hey there! Thanks for the reviews and such on the last chapter! I'm glad you enjoyed it, and once again, I apologise for the delay in it coming along. Gomen!

Anyways, here's Chapter 2!

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Chapter 2

Revival and Arrival

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Twitching, the pale, brown blooded hand gripped the back of the rotting corpse. A muffle was followed, and the mist separated, surrounding the area where the hand burst through, floating around in a delicate circle, hissing quietly.

"Revenge... Death... Kill... Sacrifice... Pain... Suffering..." It repeating over and over, getting louder with each time it repeated, and sounding more intense, and bone-chilling.

Finally, another hand exploded through beside the other, grabbing the corpse that was above the being. The single hand pushed through the inside of the stomach, pushing it aside. This caused a weak, sad, cracking sound, and ripped the body in half. Then the head emerged, screaming and panting heavily, bloodied white hair emerging from the corpse. He stopped to catch his breath, then groaned, half whining in pain. Not to mention the aroma of death was so overpowering.

He opened his eyes, revealing chocolate irises, pupils small and full of pain. He panted, then slowly, gripped the dead bodies in front of him, pulling his bruised and bloody body out of the pile. As he was almost out, he took a hand and brushed his snowy hair with his fingers, matted with blood, only to have it all move back into place again.

He groaned, attempting to stand up, but lost his footing, and strength, he let out a groaning yelp, then tumbled down the pile, and let out a single, muffled, grunt. He layed limp on the ground, breathing silently with his eyes shut tightly. He felt a cold chill go over his body as the mist crawled over him, then moved into the spot in front of him. Bakura slowly, weakly opened one of his eyes and watched as the mist darkened, then began to form a shape in front of him.

The mist circled upwards, darkening as the being began to take form. This being was tall and dark, as at it continued to take shape, Bakura began to realise that it had the face of a dog. Red eyes emerged behind the snout, and finally, the form was complete. The body of a man, with the head of a dog.

The boy stared at the mist-like creature as it stared at him, as if waiting for something. "Peh..." he finally growled, looking down at the ground as he attempted to stand. "I've been in the shadow realm much too long... the nightmares have followed me..." he grumbled to himself.

_Wait a second... How did I get out of the Shadow Realm in the first place? My mind was supposed to be locked there for all eternity... and I'm free?_

"Tsk tsk... look at the proud Bakura now..." came a raspy, deep, evil voice. Bakura's eyes immediately landed on the formed mist, staring at it as he quickly, yet unsteadily, brought himself to his feet. Panting, he stared at the creature as it mocked him... which Bakura did not like at all. "Don't be a fool, Bakura. Sit down..."

Turning his head to the side, slightly lowered, Bakura's nose curled up in hate and disgust, staring at the form. He gritted his teeth, baring them bright and white. His eyes, squinted, in both pain, and disbelief. "And what if I refuse?" he snarled loudly.

The creature did not take this lightly, baring dark fangs of his own, and letting out a hideous growl that would silence a crying child. "I said Sit. Down!" As the words escaped his lips, his eyes widened and the redness in them began to glow with an aura. As if a wave of energy came from them, Bakura felt a tightening pulse in all of his muscles, and pain increase throughout his body. He yelped, falling to his knees, panting. How sad... it looked at if Bakura were bowing for the creature.

A dark cackle escaped the lips of the formation as he stood before Bakura, grinning. "Have you no respect, thief? You bow to those who are higher in might of you... I was sure that you would know that by now..." he grinned, steeping silently towards a thick cell door, staring in through the bars.

Bakura continued to grit his teeth tightly against each other, keeping his eyes locked on the misty form, almost like a shadow, except with excess mist rolling off of it. "Who are you to say that you are mightier than me? And what would you know about me?" he growled, gripping the stone on the floor.

"Oh... but I know everything about you... everything about your life... your death... and your rebirth... I know all..." he grinned, looking back at the helpless white haired thief on the floor. Seeing the Bakura seemed un-impressed, the creature smirked, then looked in the cell again. "I know how Malik betrayed you... after all you've done for him too..."

Bakura's eyes went wide when realisation struck him like lightning. "Malik!" he snarled, forcing himself up. Sadly, the shadow's powers were much stronger, and slid down into a bowing position again.

_Malik... you... you... traitor!_

"Surely Bakura, you haven't forgotten either... Malik saved that slave from the grasp of death, just when you learned her secret. And how did the Egyptian Lord repay you? He sent your mind to linger in the realm of shadows. Then, married the slave."

Eyes widening, Bakura looked up at the shadow, teeth clenched tightly in the anger that was rising within him. "M-married?" he stuttered. Unbelievable, he thought. It was completely unbelievable.

The shadow turned to gaze at Bakura once more, expression softening. "Yes... married, had twins, and are now off to get the ancient pharaoh his body back..."

Suddenly, upon hearing these words, Bakura felt rage run through his veins. Everything the two of them had worked for was now tossed aside. World domination and ruling apparently meant nothing to the Egyptian boy, as he abandoned it all to live with that... that...

"WENCH!" he growled, angrily breaking passed the spell that was cast on him. He managed to force himself to his feet, panting heavily as the shadow gazed at him. He huffed, clenching his bloody fists tightly. "I... I don't believe it..." he muttered, shaking violently.

An amused cackle came from the shadow as it evaporated into the air, disappearing. Aggravated, Bakura glanced around the chamber, knowing that the shadowy figure was still there. He spun, looking around the room carefully. It had become obvious to him that the shadow wanted something from him. "Who are you... and what do you want?"

The cackle returned and was heard from all around. Bakura glanced in each direction, looking for the shadow. "I can help you, Bakura... we both want something, and together, we can get what we want... more than we want... power... death... revenge..." the voice hissed.

Bakura suddenly stood straight, with a face that showed no fear. After all, the thief king was NEVER afraid of anything. He tilted his head to the side, causing a small crack to ring through the air as his neck gave a snap, relaxing it. Overconfident as always, the thief was. "So... that's what you were mumbling about when you woke me up... revenge, death, kill, sacrifice." he muttered, looking around once more, crossing his arms firmly across his chest. "Who are you anyways?" he asked with little interest or care.

"I thought you would have recognised me, Bakura... however it seems millenniums does too much to our memories... very well then..." the voice echoed, deep and raspy. Quickly, the shadow formed above the un-knowing Bakura, forming into an actual, visual being. The body was black, with ancient Egyptian golden accessories, including a long, curved staff. Body of a man, and the head of a jackal.

Just as the being formed, opening it's ruby eyes, Bakura noticed the coldness above him, and he looked up, to see the grinning jackal head. Startled, the white haired teenager gave a tiny yelp, and fell backwards. Just as he pulled himself up to look, the creature descended downward, landed in a kneel, then looked up, grinning. "I, am Anubis... God of Death..."

Bakura's eyes widened slightly at hearing that he was in the presence of the Death God. As much as he didn't want to believe it, he knew that it had to be true... either that, or he was hallucinating. "A-Anubis..." he spoke quietly, then narrowed his eyes. He studied the God from head to toe, mainly because he was in disbelief.

The God stood tall, then made a slight movement with his hand, grinning with evil spread along his face like soft butter on bread. Bakura was suddenly surround by a dark aura. He shielded his eyes, since the aura burned and hurt his skin, and when the pain subsided, he opened his eyes and saw he was in the throne room of the temple. Completely opening his eyes, he glanced around, to find the throne room a complete disaster. Banners torn, torches tossed around carelessly, pulled up cobblestones, and the arm ripped off of the throne. Bakura's looked around, bored. He was half wondering what had happened, but he kind of figured it out for himself, by himself.

"Well... Malik certainly isn't welcome here anymore... Good riddance, that traitor." he muttered, turning to spit on the throne.

Grinning, Anubis crossed his dark arms tightly across his chest, then stepped beside Bakura. "You don't need him anyway... You only need me..." he grinned, turning to the white haired teen.

The thief growled low in his throat and turned to the dark God, frowning. "I did that once... and it turned out to be for the worst. Why does trusting the God of Death make much difference?"

Anubis seemed to have been stricken with anger at the comment, and landed a hard glare on Bakura, causing shadows so rise up in anger. "Don't you get it, Bakura? I can give you the power you need to destroy those who appose you... to wreak havoc upon this Earth, to take control and do things the way they should be done! Without me, you're nothing... with me, we will both thrive... you with riches and powers beyond your imagination, myself with darkness, and lost souls to torture and rule."

Once the word 'riches' reached Bakura's ear, he seemed interested, looking the God over, as if looking for a catch. However, none could be seen, and he tilted his head, in a slight cocky way, grin spreading across his face. "Riches and power you say? You must not have gotten your sacrifice this year." His words, cocky and taunting as ever.

Anubis smirked, then stepped in front of Bakura. The dark shadows crawled around Bakura's body, floating around and over him like mist. The God grinned, staring the thief in the eyes. "I want her dead as much as you. And if you agree, you will be granted my power... so long as you kill them."

This was too much for Bakura to pass up, and grinned, rather evilly. Her lowered his head slightly, curling up his features to look as if he were insane, then licked his lips. Soon after, he barred his teeth. "Do it..." With that, the shadows quickly thrust themselves into Bakura's flesh, causing him to yelp out in pain. He collapsed in a heap, shaking as a dark aura enveloped his body, and a cackle escaped Anubis' lips.

* * *

"Nnnnn... this fog is thicker than tar! Thicker than peanut butter, thicker than... Joey's head!" Debbie complained, standing at the front of the boat as she tried desperately to see through it. Her last remark caught Joey's attention and caused him to growl. "Hey! I may have a hard head, but not a thick one!"

Rolling her eyes, Debbie gazed at Joey, who was rowing the boat by himself and sighed. "Same difference Joey, same... difference." She looked back out over the water as Joey thought about the remark carefully. She looked in all directions, shielding her eyes as if it could help her see through the thick, grey fog. "Do we even know we're going in the right direction? All we did was reach the shores of Japan and now we're blindly sailing off into the ocean. For all we know, we could have circled Japan, and headed East. That... would NOT be cool. We'd be taking the long route to Europe."

Looking up slowly, Malik placed his hand on the Millennium Rod, then looked back at Debbie. "I can't say for sure, but I highly doubt we've circled Japan. The water in that part of the ocean tends to be a lot rougher than here. I'm sure we're going West." His eyes focussed out to the sea, trying hard to see anything that might show him a sign of land, but sadly, found nothing. "We haven't been out here for an extremely large, or strange amount of time, so, we can't say anything's for sure as of yet."

He lowered his head to gaze at the sleeping twins in a bundle of blanket at the bottom of the boat. He felt a small smile creep up on his face, but at the same time, felt it disappear instantly. He wasn't even sure if he was ready to be a father yet. But, that was his own fault. Things had changed since he had parted with his darker half. He, himself, felt more careless, and... aggressive one would say. He didn't feel as kind as he had before. Maybe that was because he had lost something he had lived his whole life with. Or maybe it was stress... yes... it had to be stress he presumed.

Before his thoughts had completely settled, the Millennium Rod began to glow a soft blue color, which caught Malik off guard. He jolted slightly, and looked at it, grasping it and staring at it in confusion. After a few seconds, however, the glowing stopped. Malik's eyebrow rose in confusion, and noticed that it had caught everyone else's attention. Serenity blinked, then carefully pointed at the ancient item. "What was that all about?"

Odeon lowered his head carefully, staring at Malik hard, and wearing a serious expression. "Malik... I have never seen The Millennium Rod glow with that aura before... what could it mean?" he asked silently. Malik was about to answer when the Millennium Rod began to glow brightly again, but this time, in a golden aura. The brightness of the aura caused everyone to shield their eyes, and only when it stopped, could anyone look.

The bright light had awoken the twins, and caused them to erupt in a fury of cries of fear. Jill, un-shielding her eyes quickly knelt down to them instantly and began speaking softly to them. She looked up at Malik after a second and blinked. "I don't get it... why is it acting all strange?"

"Ha! Forget it! That messed up dagger cleared the fog! And I see land!" Debbie shouted as she pointed excitedly. Everyone looked up as the boat scraped sand and landed ashore, to see that they had, indeed, reached land.

Almost immediately, Malik was out of the boat, and scanning the beach line for anything of threat, or suspicious. He scanned the area carefully, then looked at everyone in approval, nodding. "Good. By the looks of things, we're right on track. We should be in Russia.. No we have to head south, to avoid... er... any unpleasant confrontation." he cleared his throat, knowing that there was more than just people left around.

Yugi's spirit carefully looked around also, then at Malik. "I have to agree... maybe taking the beach would be the best way to go about this. Then we won't lose direction."

Malik snickered at Yugi's suggestion, then shook his head. "Water attracts beasts of the netherworld, kid. And I know I'm not staying along the coast to have a bunch of jackals, or some other large beast tear me apart. I know my way around."

Yugi swallowed at the thought, but couldn't help but be annoyed by the 'kid' remark. Malik and himself, after all, were the exact same age. He grumbled to himself, then looked up to see everyone starting their way up to a forest. He sighed, then reluctantly followed.

Joey stopped abruptly, tilting his head, then looked at Debbie. "Hey! How can something be different, but the same at the same time?"

* * *

X3 poor Joey. That little line actually confuses me all of the time too. Anyways, sorry it's not as long as I had hoped. I need to get a more proper outline for this story done, as I haven't done so yet. I really don't want to go charging into this with no idea where I'm going. Although, I have a few surprises planned for the next few chapters. Let's just say this goes off on a tangent more than even I expected o.o; 


	3. Authors Note

Oh… my… God… **This place still exists?**

I gotta say, if anyone still watches me here, I'm amazed. I've been gone like…. A year and a half to two years. However, I WILL be posting new stories, probably Naruto related, here in the future. My writing has gotten better, I can guarentee that.

_**What happened to Enslaved Love!? Why aren't you updating!?**_

Gah… burn it O-o honestly people, I took down the first story with intentions of re-writing it to have more detail and be less mary-sue. But you know what? Without actually changing the storyline and original characters itself, Enslaved Love I beyond saving. I thank you guys for reading it, supporting it, and reviewing each chapter, sticking with me all the way through, but Jill was a HUGE Mary-sue, and I completely killed Malik is the original story. I swear, I have less Mary-sue-ish characters now and plan to write MUCH better stories in the future. Please don't get mad at me for not continuing this story, but I honestly can't do it anymore. I have no interest in Yugioh anymore, and the story is beyond saving.

I hope you guys continue to support me in the future with my writing. It's something I want to get back into, and you guys are my pillars. Without you, I never would have progressed, or realized my own writing mistakes. I think the person I wanna thank most of all is Josephine Jekyl, who's reviewed to all of my chapters, and has been reading since nearly the very beginning. I really enjoyed reading your reviews. They meant a lot, and I looked foreward to eharing your feedback.

In the new year, I will be deleting my current stories, and I will have a new Penname. / Sorry guys. It's been fun, but it's time for real writing.

Thanks everyone. You guys helped me so much!


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